Three games into his Winnipeg Jets career, Gabe Vilardi suffered a sprained MCL on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Jets coach Rick Bowness told reporters Wednesday that Vilardi will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.
It is a blow to Vilardi, who has struggled with injuries during his NHL career, and the Jets, who lost their top-line right winger. Vilardi, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor outscored opponents 3-0 at 5-on-5 and controlled 63.1 per cent of expected goals in the early going. Scoring chances were 12-2 in favor of Winnipeg when those three were on the ice.
“I feel terrible for him,” Bowness said after practice. “He’s a big part of our team. He was on the No. 1 line (and) No. 1 power play, and he looked good doing it. … He was a really good fit for (Connor) and (Scheifele). It’s unfortunate that happened. He’s had a tough time with injuries.”
As for who could replace Vilardi on the No. 1 line, Mason Appleton appears to be the top candidate. Appleton can be counted on to fish out pucks along the boards; his 2.35 puck-battle wins per 20 minutes in the offensive zone lead Jets forwards at 5-on-5. Connor, Scheifele and Appleton, however, were unimpressive as a unit last season, posting a 42.5 XGF% in 158:02 of shared ice time. Opponents outscored them 9-5 at 5-on-5.
A better option would be Nino Niederreiter, who has more of an offensive skill set than Appleton. Niederreiter is an effective forechecker, ranking second among Jets forwards, with 3.17 defensive plays per 20 in the offensive zone. He also has a proven track record of getting to the front of the net. Seventeen of his 19 goals at 5-on-5 last season came from the slot, including 11 from the inner slot.
Regardless of who takes over for Vilardi for the next several weeks, the onus is on Connor and Scheifele to carry the load offensively. Connor’s 14 scoring chances in all situations are tied for eighth in the NHL. Scheifele has scored on three of his 11 shot attempts (27.3 per cent) — a rate that will decline over time.
Bowness also told reporters that the second line will get a makeover. Vladislav Namestnikov will centre Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Niederreiter skated with Alex Iafallo and Adam Lowry at practice.
Ehlers, Perfetti and Nino Niederreiter have generated 10 scoring chances as a line but have one goal to show for it.
“We’re not getting enough offence (from) the second line. We’re just not,” Bowness said. “It might look flashy at times, but there’s no consistent offence coming from that line. (Namestnikov) and (Ehlers) had great chemistry at the end of last year, so we’re going to give that a go.”
–All stats via Sportlogic
